(A faction fight develops in Pete Taaffe's FI. One of the issues
involves "democratic centralism", the last refuge of scoundrels trying
to maintain hegemony in small propaganda groups following the
Zinovievist model.)
The EC’s undialectical approach towards discussion of theoretical
differences was highlighted to one of the authors of this document when
he requested a branch debate on the cause of the 2007/8 crisis earlier
in the year. It was then suggested by a senior member of the Party that
the branch should subsequently take a vote on the branch position of the
cause of crisis immediately afterwards! This shows a complete failure to
understand that democratic centralism prescribes unity on the basis of
action, such as programmatical action and activity, and not unity on
theory. It is completely absurd, not to mention anti-Bolshevik, to have
an agreed “party line” on the cause of capitalist crisis! For example,
Lenin and Luxemburg disagreed on this very issue, but their differing
views were published and discussed publicly. They also had differences
in organisational methods, and even Trotsky publicly polemicised against
Lenin’s “What Is to Be Done?” with his “Our Political Tasks”, at a time
when Trotsky held a nominally Menshevik and Lasallean approach to Party
building and organisation.
full:
http://marxistworld.net/2014/01/building-a-revolutionary-party-in-the-21st-century/